September 12/10 15:29 pm - Chrono Champenois: Samplonius wins

Canadian cyclist Anne Samplonius won the Time Trial race against a strong field of international cyclists at the 2010 edition of the Chrono Champenois, held in France on Sunday.

Samplonius, a proven veteran on the Canadian Road Cycling Team, won with a time of 45 minutes 23.24 seconds.

"It's a good win, and I am a bit surprised. I thought that on a good day, I would step on the podium, but to win is fanstatic," said Samplonius. "For me, it shows that I have good form, probably the best in many years. The race we previously did this summer prepared me very well for today, as the CCA put together a great program over here in Europe. Hopefully it carries over the next couple of weeks and I have a solid ride at Worlds."

Judith Arndt (HTC-Columbia), two-time UCI World Champion in Time Trial, finished second at 8.39 seconds behind Samplonius, while Olga Zabelinskaia (Russia) took the bronze, trailing the Canadian veteran by 18 seconds.

By winning the event, Samplonius became the first Canadian to win since the inception of the event in 1989. In 2003, Dominique Rollin was third in the Men's race. In 2004, Canadian cyclist Jeff Sherstobitoff also took the bronze.

"This win is significant in Anne's preparations for the Worlds. Today, she defeated some of the best women in the world," said Matthew Knight, the Canadian Cycling Association Road Co-ordinator. "It's a big win against a deep field of international athletes. It's definitely a pretty good accomplishment for Anne."

With the victory, Samplonius guarantees her spot on the Canadian cycling team in Time Trial at the 2010 UCI Road World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

The Chrono Champenois race is sanctioned as a UCI 1.1 event, the next level below the World Cup.

Samplonius, 41, has been racing competitively since 1993. She won numerous Canadian titles in Criterium, and stepped on national and international podiums regularly in her illustrious career. Notably, she won gold medal in Time Trials at the 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio De Janiero, Brazil, and was the silver medalist at the world championships in 1994.